


Little Wonders

by AnnaBliss13



Category: Mean Girls - Richmond/Benjamin/Fey
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Car Accidents, F/F, Found Family, I can't tag I'm sorry if I'm missing anything, Kinda, Loss of Parent(s), Minor Character Death, Prior to start, non-graphic, vague illusion to suicide attempt in past, yes this is named for the song at the end of Meet the Robinsons its sad fight me
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-20
Updated: 2019-04-19
Packaged: 2020-01-20 15:21:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,363
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18527758
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnnaBliss13/pseuds/AnnaBliss13
Summary: "The whispering, mocking, and worst of all, the goddamn apologetic looks. Weeks ago, she would have given anything to see the children of North Shore take some fucking recognition of their actions. Now? Well, it wasn’t as though they were actually sorry for what they had done. They pitied her. That was the true kicker."-When tragedy strikes, Janis is stuck living with the person who uprooted her life.





	Little Wonders

**Author's Note:**

> I'm prefacing this with a note saying I am NOWHERE near done with this, and it has frankly sat in my drive for several months untouched. However, with my school work tampering down, I'm hoping posting this here will hold me accountable for finishing it, at some point or another. Also, this is unbetaed, apologizes for any errors, I've gone blind to them.

It’d been two months since the accident. Two months since her life had once again flipped upside down. Two months since she’d moved back into the mansion where she spent the majority of her childhood. Two months since she last saw her mother; both alive and in her casket. 

It had also been two years since she attended a public school. Her mother had pulled her out following the incidents in eighth grade, homeschooling her during the days and taking on more and more shifts during the night. Turns out the latter wasn't a great choice.

It’d been two years since Janis attended a public school, yet here she was on her way to one; stuck in a car with the girl who forced her to leave in the first place.

“You girls sure are quiet back there. You ready for the first day of sophomore year?” The driver, Gio, said, cutting through the stiff silence that had packed the SUV since they’d opened the doors in the George’s driveway several minutes earlier. 

The George’s had a private driver, of course, due to their absurd amount of wealth, and though Janis found it highly unnecessary, she really couldn’t complain when it gave her a few more precious moments before being thrown to the animals known as her peers. Plus, she liked Gio, along with the George’s other staff. She’d grown up around them, running around the oversized home along with her ex friend. Everyone in the home treated each other like family, even those who lived off of the massive property. Like Janis and her mom had. Well, some of the time at least.

-

_ “Rachel, please, let me have the guys help with the boxes.”  _

_ “It’s fine, Sabrina, I swear. It’s not much anyways, David took the majority of pretty much everything. He’s probably sold it all off by now.” _

_ “That son of a b is probably already shooting up with the money you deserve. I’m just glad you and Jan out of that hellhole.” _

_ An audible “oof” came from the other end of the vehicle the women were next to. The two looked over towards their daughters, whom it seemed where attempting to get Janis’s small, Powerpuff Girls suitcase out of the backseat. Janis was sitting on the ground by the open door _ _ , while Regina stood next to her, a startled look across her face. It was evident the aforementioned girl had fallen down in her efforts to free her most precious items from the car. _

_ “Mommy, it’s stuck, can you help?” The small, brunette girl said, standing from the pavement. _

_ The moms chuckled, and Rachel walked over and helped her daughter free the bag from where it had caught between the seats. She placed it on the ground and made a show of handing the handle to her daughter, who laughed at the goofy act.  _

_ “How about you girls head inside? I think we can get the rest from here. Regina, sweetie, can you show Jan which room we’re staying in?” _

_ “Don’t be silly, Miss Rachel, you have seperate rooms! Come on Jan, I got ta’ help pick out your decorations! I picked your favorite color for the sheets!” _

_ The blonde girl started to tug the brunette up the steps of the home, but was stopped momentarily. _

_ “Ah ah ah, wait,  not so fast you two. Jan, baby, come here.” Rachel called to her daughter, who raced back down to meet her mother. The older woman leaned down and hugged her daughter. “I love you, Janis,” She whispered into the younger girl’s ear. _

_ “I love you too, momma,” Janis replied, before being let loose by her mother and running back to meet Regina on the steps. _

_ Rachel stood back watching as the two ran inside, before sighing and facing her own best friend once more.  _

_ “Sabrina, you know you didn’t have to give us that much space. We would’ve been fine with one room.” The older blonde, who had just set down the last of the quickly-packed boxes, rolled her eyes at the comment.   _

_ “Don’t be ridiculous, there’s more than enough room here for the two of you to each have your own space.” _

_ “But with the whole family-” _

_ “Rachel, stop. It’s fine, really. You two deserve it. Besides, you guys are part of the family,” She replied, placing her hands on the other woman’s shoulders, causing her friend to sigh again, and lean in to rest her head on the blonde’s own shoulder. _

_ “ I just don’t know how to handle things from here. I keep feeling like we’re going to end up back at that crack house with him. I can’t let her go through that again, she’s already been through so much.” _

_ “You two are staying as long as you need to. You’re safe here, the guys will make sure of that. I promise, that man is never going to lay a hand on either of you again.” _

-  
“Girls? We’re here.” Gio said, startling Janis back into reality. 

That last time she had moved in with the George’s, she was in her glory. She had moved in to her best friend’s house, she had her mom with her, and she was out of grasp of her shithead father. 

Her currently situation felt like a cruel version of hell. Maybe she did die back in eighth grade after all, and this whole time had been some demon’s attempt to make her suffer. It honestly seemed better than reality. At least her mom was alive that way.

Next the her, Regina grabbed her purse and quickly exited the vehicle. ‘ _ How does she not need a backpack? She’s in AP classes,”  _ Janis thought, grabbing her own large bag, thanking Gio for the ride as she opened the door to her impending doom.

As she started her walk into the building, she felt her peers’ stares and heard their whispers all around her. 

_ “Did you hear about her mom? It was a drunk driver apparently.” _

_ “I heard she was stuck in art therapy and that’s why she wasn’t here freshman year.” _

_ “Regina must be horrified living with a freak like her.” _

“ _ Good charity work for the George’s, taking her in.” _

If Janis had it her way, she wouldn’t be walking into school right now. She wouldn’t be living in the large home, but rather her and her mother’s small home just minutes down the street from her current residence. She would be living on her own, just her and the cat, homeschooled and working to keep up with the expenses. 

But unfortunately, Janis was a minor, and her little stint in eighth grade left her a ‘risk to herself’, leaving her unable to live on her own. Her mom’s will had not been updated since prior to Janis’s public outing, and even if her mother had had the option to change who she would want to have care for Janis in the event of her passing, Janis doubts she would have.

Sabrina George had been her mother’s best friend since their days as roommates in college, both women studying to become nurses. Their friendship lasted after Mrs. George dropped out, and they remained thick as thieves up until two years ago, their daughter’s situation causing Ms.Sarkisian to end contact with the blonde through a final phone call.

Despite this, however, Sabrina had remained Rachel’s best option to place her daughter’s care in. Janis’s abusive father was  **_not_ ** an option, and Rachel’s own family remained judgemental of Janis and her “life choices”. And while Regina’s behavior in eighth grade deeply pained her and her daughter, Rachel would have known that Sabrina would still do everything she could to take care of Janis.

And now she’s here.

“Move, freak.” Someone said, pushing Janis away from the doorway, where she had apparently been stopped in front of.

“Sorry.” The girl said, barely audible, before taking a breath, stepping in, and heading towards the office as the homeroom bell rang out overhead. “ _ Here we go.”  _ She thought.

-

By the time lunch time approached, Janis had heard arguably more bullshit spewed than she had the last time she walked the halls amongst her peers. The whispering, mocking, and worst of all, the goddamn _apologetic looks._ Weeks ago, she would have given anything to see the children of North Shore take some fucking recognition of their actions. Now? Well, it wasn’t as though they were actually sorry for what they had done. They pitied her. **_That_** was the true kicker.

As Janis had no interest in seeing whatever high school drama was bound to occur in the cafeteria, she leisurely made her way to the art room, hoping the teacher were either on break or understanding enough to just let her stay. As if the universe had heard her (subconscious) pleas, the room was empty. She made her way up to the table closest to the windows and threw her bag onto the paint-stained table. Finally, something that made her feel comfortable with her situation, no matter how small and pathetic it was to feel peace from a chipping, acrylic splotch.   

She began to settle in and took a bite of her lunch, leftover veggie lo mein. Mrs. George, ever the optimist, ordered a vast amount of Chinese the night prior, hoping Janis’s favorite meal, at least, to according to her dated knowledge, would help lighten the impending doom she knew the girl awaited in the morning. Regina went out with Gretchen and Karen, and with Reginald out on a business trip with the majority of his workers, it had only been Sabrina, Janis, and the youngest George, Kylie, to share the meal. Needless to say, between Sabrina’s spending habits and Janis’s lack of appetite, the girl would be packing leftovers for the remainder of the week. 

Suddenly, with Janis mid-slurp on a bite, a boy rushed into the room at a dramatic pace, causing the girl to slightly choke on the long noodles. With the quick realization that nobody rested at the teacher’s desk he was facing and the choking noises behind him, the tall boy whipped around to face the girl, who was drinking water and had stopped coughing. 

“Do you know where Mr. Davis is?”

“No, sorry. I’m just in here to avoid the hounds of hell waiting for me in the cafe.” With that, the boy snorted lightly, before recognition dawned on him.

“Wait, are you the new girl?” Janis shrugged, hoping her attitude would drive away any unwanted questions, along with the boy currently interrupting her meal.

“I guess that depends on your definition. I was here for a while before, but I’m sure anyone you ask will be willing to tell you why I left. Seems that it’s a hot topic today, along with some other bullshit.” 

The boy, to his credit, didn’t seem to take her bluntness too harshly, and haphazardly made his was to the seat in front of her before sitting down.

“I’m Damian, seeing as we’ve never met before,” He said, sticking out his hand. “Soon to be ‘Sophomore Chairman of the Student Activities Committee’.”

“Janis,” The girl replied, hesitantly shaking his hand in return. Clearly, her ‘I’m a bitch, leave me alone’ vibe wasn’t working on him.

“I hope you don’t mind me interrupting your moment of solitude, I usually spend my lunch in here too.”

“It’s fine,” Janis muttered, still not too keen on speaking to the stranger who had seated himself across from her. The two sat in silence for several uncomfortably moments, leaving only the muted sounds of chewing to fill the space. 

“You know, you aren’t the only one with experience as the rumor mill’s ‘topic of the day’. Last year, I transferred here after my parents divorce, and someone started a rumor it was because I was gay. They weren’t wrong… about the gay part, I mean. I’m pretty sure it would take a moron to not see that, and I wasn’t exactly being subtle. But the split wasn’t about that.” 

Janis’s curiosity peaked midway through his speech; she had to bite.

“What was the real reason?”

“Tax fraud.” He said, going deadpan, before the two broke into mutual wheezing with laughter.

“But in all seriousness, as much as I dread it, I’m not gonna sit here and act like I haven’t heard anything circulating today. Just know, if you even need to talk to anyone, just know..I know what it’s like, and how it sucked serious ass to go through this type of shit alone.”

Janis couldn’t really be mad at his intrusiveness, after all, this was the first genuine offer of friendship she’d gotten in years.

“Thanks, dude. It means a lot,” She replied, before changing the subject. “So, is it only the two of us, dramatic, young gays around here?” Damian smirked.

“I mean, us and Davis. Gotta love that multi-generation struggle and solidarity,” He said, and Janis added the conversation to the positive moments that day.

-

“Girls! How was school!” Sabrina asked eagerly, as the Plastics entered with Janis towing behind at a distance. The younger girls only answered back in a number of assorted growns and acknowledgements. As the Plastics journeyed up into the master bedroom Regina now possessed, Sabrina stopped Janis on her way to the kitchen. 

“How about you, Jan? Was everything okay?” The woman asked,and Janis noticed her fiddling with her hands.

“As it’ll ever be, I guess,” Janis replied, grabbing a bag of chips from the snack drawer.

“Hunny, I know things are difficult right now...and things may not ever get better, but it will get easier. I know your mom would be really proud with how strong you’ve been throughout all of this.” The older blonde said, slightly tearing up at the mention of their mutual loss.

“Thanks Mrs. G” Janis said, careful to avoiding making eye contact with her also teary eyes. Neither of the pair said anything else, one not understanding the full details of the horrible situation, and the other simply trying to hold on. With the silence growing in tension, Janis began to make her way to the room she’d only recently moved back into. 

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos and comments appreciated. Feel free to reach out at @annablisshoa on Tumblr.


End file.
